Apparatus for killing poultry.



V. GASSARD.

APPARATUS FOR KILLING POULTRY.

APPLICATION FILED DEGJ?, 1914.

ar. 30, 1915. 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

O [lui] THE MORRIS PETERS C0.. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. n. C.

V. CASSARD. APPARATUS POR KILLING POULTRY.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 17, 1914. I

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTGJJTHQ.. WASHINGTON, D. Cy

V. GASSARD.

APPARATUS FOB. KILLING POULTRY.

APPLICATION FILED DBC. 17, 1914.

a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

43 l A T z. 34? .3..

:o: .zz .f7.4

Mm o: @maan/hoz (Lf/j @MA THE NoRrelS PETERS Co.. PHOTC-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

VERNON GASSARD, OF STAMFORID, CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR KLLINGr OULTRY.

aisance.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar.. 3U), 1215.

Application filed. December 17,1914. Serial No. 877,673. A

T0V all fio/wm t may concern,

f Be it known thatl, VERNON Cassano, a citizen of the 'United States of America, and 'a resident of Stamford, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Killing Poultry, of which the following is a specification.

rllhe features of the present invention comprise a container, preferably having a door on the front side and a separable bottom or pan, within which. container' the fowl is positioned during the period of operation; in such preferred forms the operating and supporting parts are formed in castings, for the purposes of securing rigid construction combined with minimum weight and adaptability for thorough cleansing.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of means for insuring sufficient force of the blow of the concussive means for rendering the fowl unconscious, irrespective of the rate of movement or degree of force applied by the operator.

\ @ther features of the present invention reside in the provision of means whereby the lance is withdrawn from the field of operation of the concussive means at a time prior to the OPSfation of the concussive means; also an arrangement of the various parts of the device whereby the operations of t lese parts is insured irrespective o f the skill or physical strength of the operator.

1n the preferred forms of my invention, l have provided an improved neck clamp :and other improved mechanical arrangement of the operating parts and mounting means thereof.

'lf he various parts of my device are preferably constructed and arranged to secure full discharge of the blood or other matter incident to the killing of the fowl, into the removable pan, and the parts are so arranged with the view of attaining thorough cleansing and sterilizing.

Further features and ob]- ects of my invention will be more fully Vunderstood from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevational view, taken partly in section through the door of the casing of one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a top plan view; Fig. l is a detail view in top plan of the lance and concussive means; and Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of certain parts of the mounting and operating parts of the concussive means. u Referring to the drawings, the casing 1 is illustrated as having the front door 2 and the bottom or pan 3 separable from the casing 1. The casing 1 is shown as circular 1n front and having an open top. The leg clamp el is shown mounted above the open top of casing 1 and carried by the vertically extending rod 5 adjustably mounted on the rear face of casing 1. Such adjustable mounting means mayk comprise the notches or teeth 6 combined with the fixed lug 7, carried by the casing 1, and the spring pressed stud 8 inclosed within the housing 9 and serving to yieldably hold the rod 5 against the positioning lug 7. The lower portion of the rod 5 passes through the guide 10. Thus, by grasping the rod 5, the same may be moved upwardly to any desired height by drawing the rod 5 up in the upward direction and slightly to the right as viewed in Fig. 2; also., by forcing the rod 5 slightly to the right and pushing downward, the rod 5 maybe positioned at any desired lower position. The leg clamp i is shown as comprising the relatively fixed angular piece 11, shaped to receive the legs of the fowl and the closure element 12, shown pivoted to the angular piece 11 and locked thereto by means of the notches 13 and lug 1li, (see Fig. 3). Such suspension means for the fowl may be readily adjusted for various species and sizes of fowl and the like. ylhe cage 15, adapted to receive the head of the fowl is shown supported by the arm 16 carried by the rear wall of casing 1. Said head cage 15 is preferably entirely open on the side in the direction of the lance 17 and also preferably open, either wholly or partially, on the side in the direction of the concussive means 18. lllhe concussive means 18 is shown in the form of a hammer having a forward piece 19 adapted to project through the opening 2O of head cage 15 (see Figs. 2 and 3). rlhe hammer 18 is provided with a stop bar 21, shown as a stout bar carried by the rear wall of casing 1. The buffer 50 is madepreferably in the form of a plug of rubber or like cushion inserted within the somewhat spherical hammer77 18. The mounting and operating parts of the concussive means will be described more particularly hereinafter.

The clamp for the neck of the fowl is shown as comprising the angular piece 22 provided with the handle 23 and slidably mounted within a guide opening in the stop bar 21, and the guide opening within the arm 24 (see Figs. 1 and 4). The neck clamp 22 is locked at any desired position by turning the set screw 25 having the finger piece 26 and threaded within the body of the stop bar 21. Ifdesired, cage 15, neck clamp 22 and auxiliary parts thereof may be carried by separate arms or equivalent means by the casing 1; I have simplified the mounting of these parts by utilizing the stop bar of the concussive means to serve also as the supporting means of these parts.

In the illustrated form of my invention, I have shown a single lever 27 for operating the lance 17 and the concussive means 18. Such operating lever 27 as shown may be Y positioned to the rear wall of casing 1. As

indicated more particularly in Fig. 5, the operating lever 27 is fixed to the horizontally extending shaft 28 mounted in the journal 29 carried by casing 1. rIhe toe piece 30, fixed to shaft 28, is adapted upon the rotation of lever 27 to engage the forwardly extending lug 31 fixed to the lever 32 carryingthe lance 17. It is preferable as shown in the drawings, to mount the arm 33 of lance 17 on guide rod 34 extending through guide openings 35, 36 (see Fig. 2) and to connect the controlling lever 32 with the arm 33 by means of the link 37. Thus upon downward movement of operating lever 27 the toe piece 30 will force the lance 17 forwardly to thevleft (Fig. 4) until the lance 17 reaches its extreme forward position, at which position the neck arteries of the' fowl will be severed without wholly severing the neck of the fowl. Simultaneously upon such downward movement of operating lever 27 and forward movement of lance 17, the toe piece 38 shown integral with toe piece 30 v(Fig. 1), engages the laterally extending projection 39 fixed to the arm 40 carrying the hammer 18. The tension spring 41 has one end fixed to said projection 39v and 'its other end inserted within an opening in the fixed arm 24 carried by Vthe casing 1. Such provision of means effects the movement of the lance 17 toward the fowl while the hammer 18 is forced away from the head of the fowl against the tension of spring 41. The arm 40 ofhammer 18 is provided with the notch 42 at the upper end thereofand positioned in coperation with the latch 43 to lock the hammer 18 at its extreme position as indicated in Fig. 4.` The latch V43 is mounted above the shaft 18 and provided with the spring 44. Accordingly,after the hammer 18 has been moved to its extreme outward position, the

- latch 43 will hold the same in the said extreme' outward position while the operating lever 27 may be moved back on its return stroke. Upon such return stroke of lever 27, the toe 38 will engage the projection 31 of lever 32 controlling the lance 17 and return the lance 17 to its initial position.

It will be noted that the toe piece 30 is provided with the cam portion 45 positioned relatively to the said operating parts so that the cam 45 engages the lower surface of latch 43 at an instant prior to the full return of operating lever, whereby the latch 43 will be forced out of engagement with the notch 42 and allow the spring 41 to operate the hammer 18. At such instant of operation of the hammer 18, the lance will have been moved beyond the contour of the head cage 15, and be self-guarded against possible injury by the concussive means. The guard 4G is provided to protect the lance 17 while in its initial position, and also to prevent possible injury by the lance 17 to the operator while positioning the fowl within the device or when cleansing the apparatus.

The door 2 is provided with the latch 47 whereby the casing may be closed during the operation and thus conceal the operation of killing the fowl from the operator.

The apparatus may be carried by means of the bail 48.

It will be noted that the blow delivered by the concussive means is determined by the tension of the operating spring 41 and is not dependent upon the rate of movement nor the force applied to the operating element 27. It will be observed that the relative displacement of toe 38 from toe 30 functions asa lost-motion device for securing the retention of the lance for an interval of time at its operating position.

It will be noted that in the construction illustrated, the base is formed of a casting to secure sufficient rigidity combined with proper distribution of weight, and the operating and supporting parts of the lance and concussive means are similarly formed of castings. The casing proper is bolted to these castings to form an envelop or shield for the operating parts of the apparatus.

Whereas I have illustrated my invention by reference to the specific forms thereof, it will be understood that may changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- 1. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a lance, of an open cage serving to receive the head of the fowl, means for actuating said lance to move within said cage, concussive means having a portion constructed to project within said cage and means for actuating said lance and said coneussive means in succession.

2. In a poultry killing device, the combiricarica nation with a lance, of an open cage serving to receive the head of the fowl, means for actuating said lance to move within said cage, concussive means having a portion constructed to project within said cage and common means for actuating said lance and said concussive means in succession.

3. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a lance, of an open cage serving to receive the head of the fowl, means for actuating said lance to move within said cage, concussive means having a portion constructed to project within said cage and means for actuating said lance in advance of said concussive means in succession.

4;. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a lance, of an open cage serving to receive the head of the fowl, means for actuating said lance to move within said cage, concussive means having a portion constructed to project within said cage and common means for actuating said lance in advance of said concussive means in succession.

5. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a frame, of means for supporting a fowl thereon, concussive means mounted on said frame for striking the head of the fowl, a spring connected with said concussive means, a lever, means controlled by said lever for moving one end of said spring into atensioned position relative to the other end, a stop for holding said spring in said tensioned position and means for releasing said stop.

6. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a frame, of means for supporting a fowl thereon, concussive means mounted on said frame for striking the head of the fowl, a spring connected with said concussive means, a lever, means actuated upon by the movement of said lever in a given direction for moving one end of said spring to a tensioned position relative to the other end, a stop for holding said spring in said tensioned position and means actuated upon the movement of said lever in the opposite direction for releasing said stop.

7. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a frame, of means for supporting a fowl thereon, a lance, concussive means for striking the head of the fowl, a lever, means actuated upon the movement of said lever in a given direction for advancing said lance, a resilient element connected with said concussive means, mea-ns actuated upon the movement of said lever in said given direction for tensioning said resilient element, a stop for holding said resilient element in tensioned position and means actuated upon the movement of said lever in the opposite direction for releasing said stop.

8. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a lance, of a cage, a clamp cooperating with said cage to receive and retain the head of the fowl, said cage having an open side toward the lance, and a lever for operating said lance.

9. In a poultry killing device, the combination with a lance, of a cage, a clamp cooperating with said cage to receive and retain Vthe head of the fowl, concussiveV means having a forwardly projecting portion, a cage having open ends toward said lance and said concussive means and a lever for operating said lance and said concussive means.

l0. In a poultry killing device, the combination of a lance, an arm carrying said lance, a guide for said arm, a shaft, a lever connected to said shaft, a lever loosely mounted on said shaft and connected to said arln, and a lost-motion element carried by said shaft for operating said second named lever.

11. In a poultry killing device, the combination of a lance, an arm carrying said lance, guiding means for said arm, a stop limiting the movement of said arm, a lever for actuating said arm and a lost-motion element between said lever and said arm.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VERNON CASSARD. Witnesses K. G. Imam), S. IVI. BAEDER.

Monica of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 

